


Fatale

by CarelessHux (AraSigyrn)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, F/F, First Time, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Pre-Canon, Sexism, Snoke Being a Dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:13:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24574384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraSigyrn/pseuds/CarelessHux
Summary: "There's a special place in hell for women who don't support other women." - Albright
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	Fatale

"I hardly think this requires a woman's touch, Ar-"

"Are you being insubordinate, _Major_?"

The fool actually stutters, surprised to be called on his infantile jibe. Hux steeples her fingers and regards him with cold eyes. The other officers look down when the Major searches for support that does not exist. Hux lets the silence build oppressively as the Major starts to sweat. Hux breathes out and the man flinches. Weak _and_ stupid. What joy. She runs her gaze around the table. Only Unamo and Phasma meet her eyes. The men all look away or down at their datapads.

"The allocation of resources to the _Starkiller_ project are by direct order of Supreme Leader Snoke," Hux drawls. "Am I to understand that you object to Leader Snoke's orders?"

"N-no sir!" Major Tarkin quails before her bland tone. "L-long live the Supreme Leader!"

"Long live the Supreme Leader," echoes around the table. Hux stares at the fool for another minute before she turns back to her datapad.

"Regarding the next production wave of TIE fighters," she begins and the men around her eagerly turn their attention to the new topic. She keeps Major Tarkin in her peripheral. He is a delusional fool, prone to reimagining his past to better shore up his own pride. No doubt he will have devised some imaginary retort for his flunkies to titter over by the time he finishes his current shift. He is nothing exceptional. The First Order is ridden with such men, believing their family name or their own importance to mark them out as special.

Hux could kill the fool, send his body out into the void via an airlock as she leaves this meeting and three more just like him would be waiting for her on the bridge. Tarkin is only the loudest fool in this meeting. What he is foolish enough to say, more of them are thinking. She wonders if they all think she's stupid enough not to know that.

The meeting concludes and Hux dismisses them. She leaves directly with Phasma at her shoulder. Hux acknowledges the salutes from the 'troopers passing on their way to the main hanger. Phasma follows her into the lift. The doors swish shut and the lift hums to life as Hux presses the button for the bridge.

"Lord Ren has returned," Phasma announces and Hux allows herself a despairing sigh. "Her mission was unsuccessful."

"Astonishing," Hux pinches the bridge of her nose. Her head is already starting to ache and Ren cannot have been back for more than half a shift. "Considering the objectives, I am only surprised that she expected any different."

"The Supreme Leader has ordered her to attend on him," Phasma adds after a moment of silence to indicate her assent. The good Captain is parisimous with her words but they've served together long enough that Hux can read nuance in her presence alone.

"Fabulous," Hux grumbles. "Which means we will need to rendezvous with the _Supremacy_ and put the latest building work back by another five cycles."

Phasma says nothing to that. The lift pings as the doors open onto the bridge and Hux's datapad chimes almost as soon as she sets foot outside the lift. A directive from Leader Snoke ordering that the _Finalizer_ bring Kyla Ren to him at once. Hux does not allow her expression to change; too aware of the many eyes around her. She reads the directive and turns to the helm.

"Set course for the Tanooish system," she orders. "All speed."

"Aye, aye, General!" Petty Officer Thrithid salutes and turns to give the orders. Hux tucks her datapad into her belt and folds her hands behind her. The bridge crew bend to their duties under her eye and Hux allows their efficiency to soothe her frustration. Petty Officer Thrithid turns back to Hux. "Expected time in transit to be three hours, sir."

"Very good," Hux nods to the Communications Officer. "Inform the _Supremacy_ and get us underway."

"Yessir!"

The only warning of the jump comes from the faint rumble of the _Finalizer_ 's engines powering up. The Communications officer indicates successful transmission and Hux nods to Petty Officer Thrithid who orders the _Finalizer_ into hyperspace. The pale grey curve of the planet and the construction site vanish in the familiar glow and Hux breathes out.

The journey is uneventful. Hux spends it working through more paperwork. There are three reports from the medical bay and six complaints that Ren was 'uncooperative'. Hux thinks a few curse words; the fools should know better than to provoke her after a failed mission. She pulls up the forms and spends a cathartic fifteen minutes deciding where to transfer them. The actual medical reports suggest that Ren's most serious injury was likely her own stubbornness and refusing to immediately address the actual injuries she received. Hux thinks again what a potent force Ren could be if she tempered her reckless physicality with even the barest modicum of discipline.

She is disgusted to realize that she is feeling dread at the upcoming encounter with Leader Snoke. She and Ren have been co-commanders for nearly three years, long enough for her to be familiar with the pattern. Snoke will chastise Ren for failing to achieve the impossible and spend an hour or three drawing what should be a single reprimand into pointless torment and then he will send for Hux and spend the next hour admonishing her and Ren both as if they are unruly children. Nevermind that all Hux knew of this mission was the planet, the number of troopers Ren required and that it had something to do with Skywalker. Somehow she will be held equally culpable.

Hux is no stranger to misadventure or outright failure. The First Order is a grand enterprise, nothing less than an endeavour to reshape the very Galaxy. Such grand scope inevitably means some setbacks. She is a child of the Empire and every defeat is only a step to the greater victory. Snoke's reprimands are not useful. They're barely more than an exercise in petty cruelty. The Order should be more than that. That was Palpatine's failing and it cost the Galaxy everything.

Three years ago, Hux had believed that Snoke was a leader in the shape of the late and much-lamented Grand Admiral Sloane. 

Now, she wonders...

The rest of her paperwork is barely worth her attention; she sends scathing reprimands to the junior officers who have presumed to file incorrect paperwork and authorizes Phasma to promote the first divisions of the new FN corps from basic training. Unamo has disposed of many more minor matters and filed a commendably concise report summarizing the relevant points. Hux thinks that she is going to have to promote that woman. Perhaps if Peavey persists in his petty little rebellions. Unamo would make a much more acceptable ship's captain.

She finishes her work with an hour left before they exit hyperspace. Hux elects to go to the officers' mess for a cup of kaf. It is mid-shift but a table by the wall is hastily cleared for her. She sits and drinks her kaf as she works through the latest round of issues with _Starkiller_. Logistics remain the major issue. Sourcing the necessary resources from across First Order controlled space is one problem, sourcing enough another and arranging to have those resources arrive on _Starkiller_ in a timely fashion is a whole other bushel of problems. She returns to the bridge with ten minutes until their exit from hyperspace.

The transition is seamless, the radiant light fading to reveal a small system, clustered around two dim binary stars. The _Supremacy_ is an ominous blot in the shadow of the nearest planet. Hux orders that the _Supremacy_ be hailed and hands the bridge off to Lieutenant Unamo when the inevitable response summons her and Ren both. Hux stops in her office to take up her greatcoat and make sure she has the most up-to-date reports on _Starkiller_ on her data-pad. She does not linger.

Phasma is waiting in the hanger bay with two troopers as the _Upsilion_ is readied for the transition. Hux nods in answer to her salute and glances around. "Ren?"

"On her way," Phasma says.

Hux suppresses the scowl that tries to twist her lips. Is Ren incapable of punctuality? Bad enough that she must delay Hux but Leader Snoke will not be pleased if they are late. Hux contemplates simply boarding the _Upsilion_ but the resulting tantrum would be further aggravation which Hux does not need at this moment. 

Thankfully Ren emerges from the lifts before Hux is obliged to actually comm her. Her mask seems to be a trifle askew and her robes are deplorable as ever, some new damage destroying what little order remained. She looks like some Outer Rim savage. Hux rolls her eyes and Ren snarls wordlessly at her.

"So good of you to join us, Lord Ren," she says, adjusting her gloves. "Shall we?"

Ren sweeps past her and up the ramp. Hux follows with a shake of her head and Phasma marches up the ramp behind her. The pilot is nervous, Ren's presence in the cockpit clearly doing nothing for the man's confidence. Hux simply observes from her place towards the back. Ren is pacing, her gait betraying the injuries she took during her last mission. Hux wonders if she really should have stayed in the medical bay but dismisses the thought as they enter the _Supremacy_ 's main hanger. Hux leads them off to where two of Snoke's red-robed guards are waiting.

Ren is whisked away to the audience chamber. Hux is left to twiddle her thumbs and read her reports in the reception chamber. Her datapad fills with the bloated busywork that plagues everything the _Supremacy_ touches and Hux's headache swells to new heights. She's even being copied in on _Ren_ 's reports for kriff's sake! It's one of those reports that catches her eye. It's a bland report, bloated even by the standards of Snoke's personal flunkies but Hux recognizes a cover-up when she sees one. Her eyes narrow as she starts reading rather than skimming.

Her eyebrows fly up and Phasma turns her head to look at her. Hux rereads the relevant paragraph; Silduff Motti outright admits that the intelligence that sent Ren into highly Republican space was mostly fabrication. Hux can find no indication that the fool even tried to verify the source was trustworthy. The edge of the datapad digs into her hand as she seethes.

She and Ren are not _friends_. Hux despises so much about her and her petulance and her chaos. And yet...Ren was not the reason for this failure. 

"I must see the Supreme Leader," Hux demands.

The simpering fool, another of Snoke's robed monsters, sputters and even dares to catch her by the elbow. Hux's glare sends it cringing back and the doors open automatically as she strides in.

"Supreme Leader, I-"

She stops dead inside the door. Snoke is standing in front of his throne, Ren before him. There is nothing ...overtly improper about Snoke's grip on her. One hand curled around her neck, forcing her head back and the other curled in the rags of her cloak. Hux catches a glimpse of dark, wet eyes before Ren turns her face away. The other woman looks ...small. Frightened in a way that makes Hux think of a small girl skulking around in the belly of a Star Destroyer. She's curled in on herself in a way that seems intended to hide her chest and hips; anything that makes her visibly a woman. Hux wavers, looking up at the Supreme Leader. This can't be what it looks like. She can't be seeing this.

" _General_ ," Snoke snarls. "You should. Know. Your. Place!"

He's in her head before the words register, Hux nearly chokes at the sudden rush of memories forcibly torn up and thrown in her face. Brendol Hux. His cronies. Meaty, clammy hands everywhere. Her father's comments. "Pity she never grew tits," a leering face, the name long forgotten. He'd squealed like a rodent when she'd opened his guts one night. Her father's sneering face, the bacta staining purple then red. Revulsion swamps her and she actually physically staggers.

Snoke's gloating laughter draws her eye. He's already turning back to Ren who looks wretched in a way that turns Hux's stomach.

A tiny, icy part of her thinks _A fool after all._

The effective range of a standard issue sidearm for First Order officers is two point six metres. Hux is not a standard officer. Her shot punches clean through the abscess over Snoke's left eye.

He topples backwards, jaw slack and eyes bugging out. His expression is just like Brendol's had been. Hux watches him hit the floor. Her mind is a blank wall of shock. Ren turns jerkily to stare down at the rapidly cooling corpse of the Supreme Leader. There's a drawn-out second of silence, like an inhaled breath. Just long enough for Hux to have a single crystal clear thought.

_What have I done?_

Then all six of Snoke's guards activate their weapons at once. Hux swallows the hysteria bubbling up. She flicks her monuclear blade out and resolves that she will at least sell her life dearly. Six on one will rapidly be fatal. She fires again, sending the fool with the whip-blade crashing to the ground. It is almost a mercy that she isn't going to survive this; Phasma has always wanted her to do more hand-to-hand fighting.

Before any of them can reach her, Ren turns from Snoke's body and that damnable 'sabre leaps to her hand. It ignites and Hux has to bite the inside of her lip to keep from giggling. She's going to die by the hand of Kyla Ren. Maybe Brendol was right; sentiment kills. She has the impulse to just put up her weapons. A quick death might be the best she can hope for. 

Instead she fires again, moving to get her back to the wall. They'll overwhelm her fast but she means to make them bleed first. The guards charge past Ren, weapons raised. The sound of her 'sabre slashing through the air makes Hux flinch. But it's a red helmet that hits the floor. Ren howls like a madwoman and Snoke's guards spin too late. Ren cuts them down like vermin. Hux manages to get another shot off; crippling a spear-wielding guard but Ren is in her element. She rampages through the guards and the last of them hits the ground even as the door bursts open behind Hux.

Phasma leads a squad of 'troopers in. There's a dozen dithering officers scuttling behind them. She recognizes Falsin, Brethu and Grannek. Phasma stops her troopers just inside the room and Captain Grannek finds himself uncomfortably exposed. He looks from Ren to Hux to Ren and back several times, colour draining from his face. 

"Uh," he gulps. "Your or-orders, S-Supreme Leader?"

To Ren. Of course. Hux holsters her sidearm and folds her knife into her sleeve to hide how her hands are shaking. Hux has just committed the most reckless act of treason in the history of the Order and the Empire and it's put karking _Ren_ on the throne. 

Phasma moves to plant herself beside Hux and Ren looks over sharply. Her eyes seem to catch on Hux and she stares. Hux wonders if she's trying to read Hux's mind. She doesn't know what Ren's going to find. Her mind is still a blank wall of shock. Ren comes forward in a sudden rush of movement that makes Phasma and the troopers nearest her tense. Ren ignores them in the sort of high-handed arrogance that will see her reign measured in days. She crowds into Hux's personal space, much closer than Hux allows anyone else and her dark eyes are bright with purpose.

_General,_ her lips don't move but Hux hears her clearly. _Let's finish this._

Hux hesitates but it's for show. She committed herself to Ren's side of this little civil war the second she ventilated Snoke's skull. She pulls out her datapad, fingers skipping over the authentication codes. She brings up her files and the lists of names. Her own private tally of the officers loyal to Snoke or the ghost of the Empire, the amoral and the useless. The work of careful years. A single button press sends the names to Ren's datapad. Ren's smile turns feral.

"We must purge the last of Snoke's weakness. The First Order must be strengthened." She lifts her hand and Hux thinks for a wild second that Ren means to cup her cheek. "Go forth, General. Cleanse the Order of the weak."

"As you command," Hux can't quite shape the words 'Supreme Leader' yet. She taps her fist against her chest.

"Captain Phasma," Ren continues. "The General's safety during this time is your primary concern. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Phasma's fist clangs against her breastplate.

"My Knights will already be at work," Ren says. "Do what must be done, General."

Hux salutes again, turns on her heel and marches out of the throne room. She does not meet the desperate eyes of her fellow officers. She does pull her datapad out once the lift doors close and she forwards Motti's report to Ren as well. Even without Snoke to goad her, Ren does not tolerate failure. 

Phasma remains almost shoulder-to-shoulder with her as Hux orders the troopers to find various officers. "Detain them where possible. Execute any who resist."

The troopers salute and spread out, her orders transmitted from deck to deck as she returns to the hanger. The _Upsilion_ carries her back to the _Finalizer_ where Unamo and Mitaka are waiting nervously. Two full divisions of stormtroopers stand in perfect ranks. Hux feels a fierce sense of pride and allows herself a moment to appreciate the discipline of her troops.

Then she starts giving orders.

The _Finalizer_ is purged of Snoke's pets in less than an hour. Hux's people know her and, faced with the choice, follow her unanimously. Even Peavey proves himself, shooting two of Ren's former attendants when they attempt a sabotage. Hux is able to report a complete success only forty seven minutes after disembarking. Orders from the _Supremacy_ send the _Finalizer_ back into hyperspace.

A coup is bloody work. Hux oversees skirmishes, boards the Star Destroyers with her troops and clears the last dregs of the Empire from bases and outposts. Phasma shadows every step, leaving her own bloody destruction in her wake. The stormtroopers of the First Order prove themselves again and if some of the officers who die might perhaps have been salvageable? Well, there is no-one to challenge Hux's orders. 

She is only human, however and during the desperate fighting through the decks of the _Inferno_ , she takes a ricocheted shot to the leg. If she hadn't been so tired, Hux thinks, she wouldn't have fallen. She curses, afraid that her misstep will make her troops falter. She underestimates them. TN45877 moves to cover her, firing repeatedly into the mass of officers as their squadmates surge forward. The last of the _Inferno_ 's traitors die under a flurry of blaster shots.

Phasma hauls Hux back to her feet, bracing when Hux's leg fails to support her weight, and the troopers form a wall between her and the rest of the ship. A medikit is quickly found and Hux knots the bandage around her thigh herself. Phasma hovers as Hux orders the bodies of the traitors dragged to the waste chutes.

"Dispose of them as the trash they are," she says. 

"The traitors have been eliminated," Phasma says. "We should return to the _Finalizer_."

"Once the new captain has been confirmed," Hux waves her away. Phasma huffs, looming over Hux's shoulder as she re-organizes the remnants of the _Inferno_ 's officer corps, transferring some veterans from the _Finalizer_ and giving fresh orders for their mission. It can't be more than a couple of hours but she feels a tell-tale tremour in her leg when she walks up the ramp of the _Upsilion_. Phasma crowds her into one of the small cabins almost before she has given the pilot their orders. She closes the door, setting her blaster down and reaching for her helmet.

"How bad?"

"It's barely a flesh wound," Hux complains but Phasma presses her back into her seat before bending to inspect her leg.

"Nearly cauterized the artery," Phasma corrects, mouth pursing into a disapproving frown. She pulls out a medikit and cuts away the singed edges of Hux's uniform. She tosses aside the soiled bandages and wipes the wound with an antiseptic wipe. Hux hisses through her teeth. The bacta-gel is cold but the numbness that spreads from Phasma’s fingertips makes Hux breathe out in a shuddery sigh. Phasma applies a fresh bandage and sits back on her heels.

"Thank you, Captain," Hux says.

"You require rest," Phasma observes. She picks up her helmet but does not put it on. "You've managed less than four hours per cycle."

"We needed to root out the traitors," Hux says dismissively. 

Phasma grunts and puts her helmet on. Somehow she still manages to radiate maternal disapproval as if Hux is a willful child rather than an adult officer. Hux does not roll her eyes. Instead she turns her attention to her datapad. There are fresh communications confirming what she already knew; the coup is over. The First Order is united under the new Supreme Leader, Kyla Ren. 

Hux stares down at her datapad and tries not to notice the faint tremour in her hands. There's nothing to distract her anymore and she wonders again what Ren intends to do with her. She's killed one Supreme Leader already and her relationship with Ren has veered from 'frigid tolerance' to 'full on shouting matches'. Hux is not afraid of Ren or her mystic diversions. She had wondered if Ren intended Phasma to execute her or if there was supposed to have been an accident during the fighting.

Or does Ren intend to execute her in person? It would be profoundly foolish, given Hux's role in securing her reign but Ren is nothing if not mercurial. She might even see it as a sign of strength; proving her power over anyone in the Order. It would damage her reputation, Hux is not universally loved but such an example would make other officers wonder if they should strike before Ren kills them too. She doesn't know what's going to happen next. Ren's never involved herself in the mundane politics of the First Order. She can't be totally inept; genetics alone should give her some skill.

"We have landed," Phasma says and Hux deactivates her datapd and rises to her feet. She keeps her expression blank but Phasma's hand hovers for a moment until she is satisfied Hux can stand unaided. "Would you accept a cane?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Hux sniffs. Phasma once more conveys her opinion by the angle of her helmet. Hux ignores her and does not limp as she exits the cabin. She does pause at the end of the ramp to personally commend TN45877 and several of the troopers for their valour before she dismisses them with orders that they are to have an extra rest cycle. Phasma hums, Hux would offer her the same but Phasma has clearly decided that Hux needs to be monitored and intends to see to it herself. She nods to Peavey.

"Captain, how's the arm?"

"Healing nicely, thank you, General!" Peavey's salute is still crisp. "The, uh, the Supreme Leader has requested your presence. As soon as possible."

"Very well," Hux keeps her face expressionless. "Expected time to rendezvous?"

"Half an hour or so," Peavey says.

"Then I will have time to change my uniform," Hux nods at him. "Get us underway, Captain."

"Yessir!"

Hux dismisses him with a wave and makes her way to the lifts with Phasma still shadowing every step. She thinks to check her datapad as the lift ascends and finds her new orders. Ren has been thoughtful enough to address the summons to her personally. Hux almost misses the note at the bottom. Then she has to read it twice to be sure she isn't hallucinating. Phasma creaks as she tilts her head curiously.

"Dress uniform," Hux spits. She didn't think Ren knew the damn things existed. Hux never wears it. There is no place in her life for such fripperies. Her regular uniform is more than sufficient. Phasma straightens and Hux has to bite back the urge to snap. It would make her look weak.

Phasma stays close the whole way to the door of Hux's cabin. Hux stops at the door to glare at her. There's no-one else in the hallway and the holo-cams don't cover this angle. Phasma regards her placidly. "You will require assistance to properly don your uniform."

Hux closes her eyes and breathes deeply. Phasma is a loyal and exceptional officer. Hux absolutely cannot ship her off to the Outer Rim to 'guard' a mine shaft. Well, probably she can't. She opens her door and allows Phasma to follow her in. She leaves her datapad by the door as Millicent comes running from the sleeping quarters to wind around her legs with a throaty 'murrp?'

"Hello, Millie," Hux bends to pick her up and Millicent purrs like a properly maintained engine. Hux pulls her glove off with her teeth and enjoys the softness of Millicient's fur. Phasma sets her blaster down by Hux's datapad and takes off her helmet. Millicent chirrups but makes no move to leave Hux's arms. Hux scruffs under her chin and Millicent's eyes half-close in pleasure. Phasma strokes a hand down Millicent's back.

"Hello, Millicient," she smiles as Millicent mews politely at her.

Hux feels the faintest shudder; they must have entered hyperspace and she sighs. Millicent complains as she is set down and butts her head against Hux's shin. Phasma distracts her with a toy and Hux strips off her belt and coat. She feels her exhaustion suddenly, an overpowering urge to just shed her uniform and crawl into her bunk with her cat. She shakes her head and feels the end of her braid smack against her shoulder blades. Phasma catches her eye and crosses to the wardrobe. Hux checks her appearance in the mirror. She looks like she's spent a week running from one disaster to another, ugly dark circles under her eyes and waxen skin. She unpicks her braid with a sigh and rubs her scalp. It doesn't dispel the headache but it eases the tension a little.

It is embarrassing that she _does_ need Phasma's help to get into her uniform. It fits, thanks to the periodic tailoring done by the droids but it feels like a ludicrous costume. Phasma brushes out her hair and braids it into something more ...pretty. 

"Almost Nabooian," Hux says, trying to hide the shiver of unease she feels. Her hair feels almost loose. She has a childish urge to wind it around her hand, keep it where it can't be pulled but she keeps both hands down by her side. She is a karking General of the First Order. She is not a starving waif lurking in the bilges.

Phasma's reply is cut off by the tremour of the _Finalizer_ exiting hyperspace. Millicent meows plaintively. Hux's datapad chimes. She sighs. "I suppose there's no point in sending you off-duty?"

Phasma's answer is to slam her helmet back into place. Hux sighs and tucks her datapad into her belt before exiting her chambers. Phasma falls into step behind her and Hux acknowledges Peavey's comm, instructing him to begin the minor repairs that the _Finalizer_ requires. She doesn't know when Ren will allow her to return but he doesn't need to know that. 

The flight to the _Supremacy_ takes only a couple of minutes and the pilot smacks themselves in the eye saluting. Phasma radiates a contemptuous disapproval but Hux simply cannot make herself care. They're Ren's pilot, after all. She will be grateful to return the _Upsilion_. She can never fly in it without a dozen mental amendments to the plans that Ren stole and insisted on having fabricated.

A full division of troopers and three different officers are waiting to welcome her but Hux's eyes are drawn to the masked figures standing at the end of the ramp.

"Lord Trudgen, Lord Vicrul," Hux says and both Knights sweep into low bows. Phasma is highly alert behind her but the Knights don't seem to be threatening. They seem almost...pleased? Hux flicks a glance at the officers behind them who look like men standing in the middle of a minefield. Hux proceeds towards the door and manages not to flinch when the Knights fall in alongside her.

"General Hux, sir!" Captain Grannek salutes. "The Supreme Leader is expecting you, sir!"

Hux says none of the biting things that leap to her tongue. She simply keeps walking and the Captain scurries to keep up. He can't seem to decide whether he should be watching for Trudgen Ren or Phasma so trips over his feet as he tries to watch both. Hux rolls her eyes and keeps going. The fool looks like he's slept less than she has. Ren must be driving him hard. Good. Maybe she found some use for him other than wasting valuable carbon.

Grennek keeps pace all the way to the lift. Hux thinks he means to stay with her even then but Trudgen Ren knocks him back with an outstretched arm. Vicrul Ren stares at him with the narrow focus of a predator until the door cuts him off. Hux folds her arms behind herself and shifts her weight slightly. The bacta's starting to wear off and her leg is starting to ache again.

" _You are injured, General,_ " Vicrul Ren turns to stare down at her.

"A minor flesh wound," Hux dismisses this odd concern. "The _Inferno_ 's petty officer was a better shot than his record suggested."

" _Do you require medical assistance?_ " Hux turns to look at Trudgen Ren with a raised eyebrow.

"For a glancing burn? Hardly."

The two Knights shift their attention to Phasma in the same instant. Phasma bristles wordlessly and there is an entirely silent exchange which Hux finds hilarious. It ends with Phasma edging a little closer to Hux and looming over the two Knights. Hux presumes that makes her the victor; she does not partake in such posturing for a reason. The two Knights settle back into place as the lift comes to a halt and the doors open. They're on the right floor for the audience chamber. The carpeting that was on the floor has been replaced with marble that makes her every step ring out like a thunderclap. 

The red-robed guards come to attention as soon as she emerges from the lift and the doors are opened for her as she approaches. The sound of voices, conversations and the ringing sound of glasses makes Hux stiffen mid-stride. It sounds like a reception and she feels her temples tighten as her headache rushes back. There is nothing she wants less than to spend hours making meaningless conversation with organizational leeches and parasites. All they want to talk about are their own interests or banal gossip about their betters. Hux would rather spend the time doing actual work but Ren is Core-born, doubtless these events are simply how she wants things done.

Hux enters unannounced to find the area before the empty throne full of preening wastrels and over-dressed fools. She expects the two Knights to join their fellows on the dias where Ren's throne awaits her. Instead Vicrul and Trudgen Ren move to flank Phasma who has switched her attention to the fops around them. Hux takes a glass from a droid and looks around. She knows a few of the people here but she would rather peel her skin off with a dull vibroblade than exchange more than a polite nod with them.

"Arcenia!" Her shoulders seize up at the name but when she turns to see who is calling her, Hux genuinely thinks she's going to be ill.

Wolbront Kheg is wearing Colonel stripes and his perfectly even white teeth glint like they've been picked out with luminous paint. His hair is perfectly slicked back and the cut of his coat emphasizes the breadth of his shoulders rather than the softness of his belly. He looks like he's stepped out of an old Imperial recruitment poster. He's gotten older and the resemblance to his father is more marked than ever. Hux tastes bile on the back of her tongue as she forces the unpleasant rush of memories down. Menzus Kheg had starred in some of the memories Snoke forced back to the surface.

"Colonel," she says, hand tight around the glass.

"Oh come now," Wolbront flashes his teeth in a wide smile. "Surely we can dispense with all this formality."

"I pref-" Hux starts but he carries on talking without even taking a breath.

"After all, everything has changed! Supreme Leader Ren has so many plans and strategies for the final overthrow of the Republic," he leans in and Hux stiffens her spine against the urge to lean away. His breath reeks of drink and the bitter-mint of dental spray. "I myself have been of some service and I have reason to believe that Leader Ren will look ...favourably on my request."

"How wonderful for you," Hux can't remember if Wolbront ever met Ren before this. 

"How wonderful for _us_ ," Wolbront corrects. He catches her free hand and Hux nearly loses her glove as she wrenches it back. "It's time. I've given it serious thought and really, you're not getting any younger you know-"

"I beg your pardon?" Hux hisses. Phasma is suddenly right behind her, Wolbront's teeth reflected and refracted on her armour.

"And mother will want three children at least," Wolbront continues. "We can have the wedding on the estate. We can give you a few weeks to shed the extra kilos and mother might even lend you her old dress. She's always been so generous to you-"

Hux feels the heat of her embarrassment burning in her cheeks, her stomach knotting with horror. Marriage? To _Kheg_?! Has Ren lost her karking mind?! Is this how she means to neutralize Hux? Marrying her off to this-this ego made flesh? Just the thought of him touching her makes feel unclean. She won't be sold into this...this farce of marriage!

Wolbront reaches out as if he means to cup her cheek and Hux rears back. She hears Phasma's growl echoed but she doesn't risk looking around. Wolbront chuckles like she's a misbehaving pet. This time he reaches for her hair and Hux smacks his hand aside.

"Don't be a brat, Arcenia," he chides and reaches out again. "You'll need to learn better manners as my wife."

The sudden dead silence makes him freeze. Hux thinks the glass in her hand has cracked. Her throat is dry and her tongue sticks to the roof of her mouth as she looks past him. Ren, taller than Wolbront and infinitely more imposing in splendid black robes, looks _incandescent_. Her fury crackles in the air. Wolbront turns, his winning smile faltering as he thrusts his drink onto a passing tray. "Supreme Lead-"

"How _dare_ you?" Ren's snarl makes the hairs prickle up the back of Hux's neck. She steps forward and Wolbront falls back. Hux refuses to move, lips pressed tightly together and Ren comes to her side. Her hand is warm against Hux's back and Hux sucks in a surprised breath, keeping her face as blank as possible. "Not only daring to proposition my consort but to proposition her _before my very eyes_?!"

"I didn't-" Wolbront goes grey with terror, sweat beading on his forehead. "I meant no offense, Sup-"

His voice cuts off, hands flying to his throat as Ren raises her free hand, curled into a claw. The hand on Hux's back presses her a centimetre closer and Ren turns dark eyes on her. Is she expecting Hux to beg? For _Kheg_? Hux's upper lip curls and Ren's answering smile is feral. She thrusts her hand out and Wolbront hits the wall with a bone-cracking thump. Ren watches him fall with pitiless eyes and sketches a sharp gesture in the air. Wolbront screams.

It takes him nearly seven minutes to die.

Hux savours every second of it. 

When it is done, Ren turns back to her. "General Hux."

"Supreme Leader," Ren is standing too close for Hux to bow properly. She brings her fist to her chest and Ren smiles at her. Ren's smile transforms her face. She takes both of Hux's hands, her glass floating to the tray of the nearest droid and brings Hux's hands to her lips. Heat burns in Hux's cheeks and she keeps her eyes on Ren rather than the goggling crowd around her. Trust Ren to be so shameless.

"I am pleased to have you back by my side," Ren says. She turns and leads Hux to the dias with the eyes of every person in the room on them. The cleaning droids remove the last of Wolbront in small black bags. "We celebrate our victory over the forces that would have weakened us and the dawning of a new and greater age for the First Order."

Hux takes the glass offered to her by another droid as Ren lets go of her hand. Her hand feels colder than it should but Hux raises her glass. "Long Live the Supreme Leader!"

"LONG LIVE THE SUPREME LEADER!"

The rest of the function goes tolerably well as far as Hux can judge. She stays on the dias, right by the throne and every pale, nervous officer that comes to offer their congratulations to Ren looks at her with terror in their eyes. Her leg starts to pain her after the first hour but she feels something solid take her weight. When she glances down, she only sees the faintest crease in her trousers. The Force, she concludes. Ren keeps looking at her with some unfamiliar emotion shining in her eyes. Hux has a thousand questions but she doesn't dare even think them in this room of vipers.

Half an hour later, after the pain in Hux's leg goes from an ache to a searing burn that hurts more than the initial injury did, Ren rises to her feet and the officers thronging the chamber hush.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, my loyal servants," Ren says. "Tomorrow, the greater work begins again."

She holds a hand out to Hux who blinks for a second before she takes it. Ren leads her to the door behind the throne where Ap'lek and Cardo Ren are standing guard. Ap'lek Ren opens the door with a bow that his brother echoes. Hux grits her teeth and marches forward as if she's on a parade ground. Ren allows her this little gesture of pride until the door closes behind them. Then she simply sweeps Hux off her feet as if she weighs nothing at all.

"Ren!" Hux snaps. "Put me down at once!"

"You're in pain," Ren says, striding down the small hallway.

"I can walk!"

"You don't need to," Ren says. "There's nobody here but us."

"I don't need to be babied," Hux barks. She tries to struggle free but Ren hefts her as if she weighs no more than Millicent.

"I'm not babying you," Ren fixes her with intense eyes. "You don't need to prove anything to me, Hux. I know your worth."

Hux flounders, feeling her cheeks burn as she struggles to speak.

"Besides, I have wanted you in my arms for long enough that I want to savour it," Ren says casually and Hux nearly chokes. Ren's laughter is smug but still oddly pleasant. She stops before an imposing door. Hux has a second to wonder what sort of cave Snoke might have lived in before Ren carries her into a lushly appointed room. The high ceiling is lit by dim lights that make the room feel...intimate. Ren's mask is on a stand by the melted lump of her grandfather's helmet. There is a stand on the desk for Ren's lightsabre and two low couches face a tinted viewport. The bed, a real bed not a bunk, dominates the room. Hux ducks her head in a vain effort to hide the flush in her cheeks.

Ren sets her gently on her feet, arm still secure about her waist. Her other hand skims up Hux's sleeve to cup her cheek. Hux blinks up at her. The three centimetres difference in their height seems much greater with Ren towering over her like this. Hux runs her tongue over her lower lip, a nervous tic she had thought long since broken. Ren's eyes go dark and she closes the distance between them. Her lips are dry, catching on Hux's and Hux swallows. She tilts her head and lets Ren part her lips. Hux feels stiff and awkward but Ren's heat softens her. She doesn't know what to do with her hands and the shiver that runs down her spine is only half anticipation. 

Ren draws back and Hux braces herself for the laughter, the mockery and revulsion. Ren doesn't laugh. Ren looks at her with hot hunger burning in her eyes. Hux can't maintain eye-contact without her cheeks flaming. Ren lets go of her only long enough to pull off her gloves. Her hands are surprisingly soft when they come up to Hux's face. The second kiss is no less confusing than the first but this time, the heat flickering in her belly runs up her spine and she barely swallows an embarrassing sound.

"Hux," Ren breathes and Hux shivers. 

This time she kisses Ren.

She feels feverish as Ren strips off her gloves to press kisses against her hands, her wrists and she fumbles with the fastening of Ren's robe. Ren's skin tastes of salt and her thick hair is soft against Hux's bare hands. Ren kisses her again and again until Hux is dizzy with it. Invisible hands unfasten the clasps of her uniform as Ren seems entirely unwilling to let Hux go long enough to unclothe her. Hux can't get enough space to do more than fumble at the ties. She can't even complain with Ren biting into her mouth but she does grab for the lapels of her own uniform.

Ren pulls back to frown at her, Hux panting into the crowded space between them. "Hux?"

"I don't have the Force, Ren," Hux reminds her. "I can't will _your_ clothes off."

Ren blinks then peers down at her overly elaborate robes as if noticing them for the first time. She drops her hands to her belt, then looks up at Hux as she unbuckles it and casts it aside. Hux bites her lip as Ren unpicks the knots holding her tunic together. She gets a flash of pale skin before Ren pauses. It takes a moment for her to realize Ren is staring pointedly at her own hands. She lets her formal tunic flap open and shrugs it off. Ren's tunic follows it to the floor. 

They match each other, piece for piece despite Hux's growing self-consciousness. Ren is beautiful, voluptuous with her soft curves over hard muscle. Nothing about her obvious physical power detracts from her beauty. Hux feels like a sexless mannequin beside her. Her breasts barely require a camisole, much less a bra. Her hips are narrow and bony and her skin has barely seen light beyond the decks of spaceships. Hux's shoulders curl in and she folds her arms tightly around herself. The building sense of shame smothers the lust quite effectively.

Ren crooks a finger under her chin and Hux meets those dark eyes reluctantly.

"Beautiful," Ren says and Hux scoffs before she can think better. Ren's eyes narrow and Hux glares back at her.

"I don't need your pity," she snarls, "or your pretty lies."

Ren's expression darkens and she sweeps Hux off her feet, arms like durasteel bands around her. She kisses Hux, tongue pressing between her teeth and bending her neck back with the force of it. Hux doesn't realize they've moved until she feels the soft sheet against her back. Ren breaks the kiss, bracing herself over Hux with hands on either side of her head. Hux gulps in air, mouth hanging open and her lips tender.

"Who has done this to you?" Ren demands. "Who has made you think yourself..."

Hux can hear the words she's not speaking; frigid, sexless, repressed. There's no answer she can give, she thinks. She doesn't feel like digging up every memory of her adolescence, Brendol's endless prattle and the advice of well-meaning mentors that her lack of physical appeal would stand her in good stead as it wouldn't get in the way of her achievements. 

Ren growls in her throat. "They lied."

"Stay out of my head!"

"I am not _in_ your head," Ren bends to kiss her and Hux feels a faint pressure against her temple. Ren pulls back. "Your memories are very strong."

Hux opens her mouth to argue but Ren kisses her again, pressing her into the bed with her weight. Hux is pinned completely, only her hands in Ren's hair and she pulls Ren into a deeper kiss. She feels the heat in her belly again as Ren explores her skin with reverent hands and raptured eyes. She presses her thighs together at the rush of liquid heat and Ren's expression becomes predatory.

She bites Hux's neck, a sudden sharp pain that jolts her over the edge in a rush of pleasure. Ren kisses her through it and Hux tries to assemble an apology; she's hazily sure that climaxing prematurely is bad etiquette. Ren kisses her again.

"Don't worry, Hux," her hand presses against Hux's belly, making her sharply aware of the quivering lingering in her muscles. "We're not done yet."

Hux stares up at her and Ren presses her smirk into Hux's clavicle.

Much later, Ren finally collapses onto the bed beside her, both of them panting like they'd run a parsec and wet with sweat and various fluids. Hux stares up at the ceiling and savours the feeling of relaxation. Ren flops a hand on her belly and Hux rolls her head to see dark eyes studying the long lines of her limbs. She can't even begrudge Ren the satisfied gleam as she takes in the patchwork of puffy bruises and reddening bites. Ren props herself up on an elbow and Hux marvels absently at her energy. Ren shows no interest in moving away, prefering to stare down at Hux.

"Beautiful," Ren says as Hux swipes lazily at her. "The greatest jewel of the First Order."

"Flattery," Hux says languidly.

"Truth," Ren parries. "I will convince even you eventually."

Hux rolls her head to stare at Ren. That is very nearly a declaration of intent. "You sound like you're contemplating marriage."

"Of course not," Ren says immediately. Hux's stomach sinks and she feels too exposed suddenly. She hadn't even meant it seriously; what was she expecting? That one sexual encounter would win Ren's attention? Stupid, stupid, stupid. She tries to roll over but Ren catches her hip and continues talking absently. "I haven't earned that yet."

Hux stares at her. "Earned...?"

Ren blinks as if she's been caught out and rolls Hux into her arms. Her gaze flickers away as if embarrassed. Hux nudges her. She's baffled and not sure if she should be blaming the endorphins or Ren's general Ren-ness. 

"I can't ask you to marry me yet," Ren says with great authority.

"You don't have to _ask_ me anything," Hux points out. "Supreme Leader."

Ren bristles like Millicent facing down a new cleaning droid and Hux is still baffled. Ren is her superior, possibly the only superior officer to her as it stands. Most of her fellow Generals had been eliminated during the purge. 

"I can't ask you to marry me," Ren repeats. She sounds a little more uncomfortable this time. Her expression is a mix of shame and resolve. "Alderaanian courting customs..."

"Alderaanian...?"

"My mother's customs," Ren says, chin set in her most stubborn expression. Hux bites back the urge to argue. Ren in this mood is immovable. Not even Snoke could compel Ren when she's like this. Hux sees no reason to waste her time.

"I confess, I don't have any real knowledge of them," Hux says instead.

"An exchange of gifts is traditional," Ren says. "Particularly among the Houses."

"Of course," Hux murmurs, tensing a little. 

"A gift is given as a mark of intent," Ren traces absent patterns over her back and down along her hip. The calluses from her 'sabre leave a faint tingle in their wake. "And a gift of equal or greater value allows that party to formally propose."

Hux's first thought is the _Upsilion_ but that doesn't feel right. Ren takes her face in her hands and kisses her deeply. When they have to break for air, she presses their foreheads together so all that Hux can see are Ren's eyes. She can't identify the emotion shining in them but her heart speeds regardless.

"You gave me an empire," Ren breathes. "You gave me my freedom."

"I didn't-" Hux squirms, embarrassed again. She hadn't shot Snoke for _Ren_. Well, she had but it was-

"I know," Ren's smile creases the corners of her eyes. "He thought the memory of your father would cow you."

"Fool," Hux spits, temper pricked just from the memory.

"He underestimated you," Ren's voice carries an undercurrent of smug laughter. "As so many have before."

"But I didn't-" Hux tries again.

Ren kisses her silent. 

"I saw your mind, Hux. And I knew his. He wanted to make me small. He wanted you to see me like that to diminish me in your eyes. He wanted me humiliated but you-" There is wonder in her eyes as she stares at Hux. "-You felt only rage that he was so arrogant as to think he could shame me."

Hux has to look away, cheeks burning again. Ren laughs and the covers of the bed draw up over them both as she draws Hux into her arms. She kisses Hux's burning cheeks before she lets Hux hide her red face against the soft skin of Ren's neck. A large hand smooths up her back and Hux feels the pleasant lassitude of before drawing her towards sleep.

"By Alderaanian custom, I have not even earned your kiss," Ren whispers in her ear. "But I have wanted you since the day we met and I could not abide the thought of others presuming to pay court so far above their deserving."

Hux grumbles against her throat, words slurred and incoherent. She's half-asleep already, Ren's warmth chasing even the idea of cold from their bed. Ren's arms are a comforting weight around her and even her leg feels light and relaxed. She yawns and nestles a little closer as her eyes close.

"I will lay the Galaxy at your feet," Ren promises her, soft and fervent. "I will ask you to marry me when I put a crown on your head. Nothing else would be worthy of you."


End file.
